Chapter 20 #2
“It’s nice to get some walking in.” Her attempt at a joke fell flat, and she watched Maggie with a kind look on her face. “Why don’t we see what they sent you?”
Luke flipped the envelope out so it faced up, and Maggie’s eyes widened.
“I know that handwriting…” Everything in the kitchen fell away, and there was nothing but Maggie, and that goddamned envelope.
Her hand trembled as she took it from him, shaking so badly it took three tries to open it.
The envelope fell to the floor and MacDonald snapped gloves over her hands, then bent over to pick it up and place it in the evidence bag she’d brought with her.
Maggie unfolded a thick wad of paper, and held them up to her face.
Three bullet holes pierced the papers, giving him a view of the tear streaking down her cheek.
A sharp inhale preceded the pained whine from her throat.
His entire being vibrated with the need to go to her. But something told him to tread carefully.
Luke approached the woman he’d come to think of as his and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Maggie didn’t respond to his touch, her gaze frozen to the papers in her hand. She wasn’t hiding them, so he looked.
Not only had whoever sent this shot it with a gun, they’d written on it in red marker. “Til Death Do Us Part, Margaret,” scrawled across a bunch of official-looking text, and the title of the document?
Petition of Divorce.
Luke’s stomach sank and his pulse pounded in his ears. Maggie was married?
The floor might as well have dropped out from under him.
His throat tightened so much he thought he’d choke on air.
Luke considered himself an honorable person, and he would never knowingly hit on a married woman.
Much less sleep with one. Maggie became his anchor to the world around them. Why hadn’t she said anything?
“Mag…Maggie?”
“He… he found me.”
The terror in her shaky voice brought Luke’s attention back to her. Her free hand gripped his forearm hard enough to leave bruises that matched the ones on his soul.
MacDonald gently pried the papers away from Maggie, placing them in her evidence bag.
“I’ll take these in, Maggie, and we’ll be in contact with the Oklahoma City precinct.
This is another clear violation of the protection order.
” She sealed the bag and tucked it into a satchel at her hip, then carefully pried the nitrile gloves off. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Maggie groped in her apron for her phone. “I need to call my lawyer.”
“If you have her information, I’m happy to send her a copy of our full report on what’s been going on.”
Maggie nodded, pulling up a contact on her phone and showing her the information long enough for the officer to copy it down. She tugged her hat down onto her head and nodded at the two of them.
“Take care of her, Luke. I’ll get this to Alex immediately.”
His “Thanks, Mari,” came automatically. She gave them a grim smile and walked back out the door.
Looking down at the trembling woman in his arms, he realized what really mattered.
No, she hadn’t trusted him with the whole truth, but anyone married to a man this insane was bound to have trust issues.
After everything Luke had seen in the FBI, the pieces of that puzzle all finally came together and confirmed his worst fears.
Maggie’s husband was the one that had hurt her.
As far as the two of them were concerned, she’d done the right thing, trying to end the marriage before sleeping with someone else. It wasn’t her fault the guy was clearly unhinged.
“Maggie… the oil burn. He’s why you didn’t want help, isn’t he?”
She gave him a single, shaky nod, then dropped her head. “You saw the scars, didn’t you?”
He pulled her in tighter, her back to his chest. “I’m an agent, Maggie. I’m trained to see these things.”
Her chest rose and fell. “Most of the time I had to patch myself up.”
Luke was glad she couldn’t see him scowl. He kept his voice even, though. “Most of the time?”
She raised her left wrist, the one he’d held when she got hurt.
“After three days, he finally had to take me to the clinic to get this seen, but it was too late.” Maggie moved her hand back and forth, and a distinct click reached Luke’s ear over the hum of the kitchen.
“That’s the only time I couldn’t patch myself up. ”
“Maggie… baby…” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I’m so sorry.”
With that, Maggie seemed to come out of her trance. “Fuck, the customers…”
Luke shook his head. “I’m calling Shorty and Katya in. Hell, I’ll beg Felix to wait tables if I have to. You shouldn’t be working after that.”
She turned in his arms and pressed her hands to his shoulders. “I can’t… I can’t let him win, Luke. And if I go home, I’ll do nothing but worry myself into an anxiety spiral.”
He clutched her tighter. “He has a gun, Maggie. He threatened you by shooting those papers.”
“I know.” She looked up at him and cupped his face. “He’s a detective with the Oklahoma City PD.”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, this was bad. An idea popped into Luke’s head and he blurted it out almost immediately. “You need a concealed carry permit.”
“Huh?”
Yes. This was the answer, this would let him sleep better. As well as not letting her out of his sight. “I’m taking you to the gun range tomorrow. You can practice with my gun, then we’ll get you a permit so you can carry your own.”
“Luke…”
“Please, Maggie.” He stared into her eyes, as color returned to her face.
“Okay. Okay, you can teach me.”
Luke pressed his lips to her forehead in gratitude.
“Now let me go check on my tables.”
He released her with a relieved laugh, watching her go through the swinging doors.
Yep, he was in trouble. And the future was not going to be his problem today.